IRWINDALE ONE OF THE FEW SURVIVORS.Byline: TIM TIM Timothy TIM Technical Interchange Meeting TIM Transient Intermodulation Distortion TIM Time Is Money TIM The Invisible Man (movie) TIM Telecom Italia Mobile (Italian cellular provider) HADDOCK Motor Sports At a time NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. is experiencing record growth and unprecedented popularity, race tracks in and around Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, are closing. Cajon Speedway, near San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , was the first to shut down, before the 2005 season began. Mesa Marin Raceway Mesa Marin Raceway was a high banked half mile racetrack in Bakersfield, California that was demolished following the 2005 racing season to make way for housing developments in the foothills of northeast Bakersfield. in Bakersfield became the second when track officials announced that this year's October Classic would be the last NASCAR race the track would stage. A booming real-estate market has made the land too valuable not to develop, quickly leaving Irwindale Speedway Irwindale Speedway is a motorsports facility located in Irwindale, California. It features banked, paved 1/2 and 1/3 mile oval tracks. It is mainly used for USAC sprint car and regional NASCAR races. the last place in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. to race. Fans are worried the huge following NASCAR has developed in the past decade will dwindle dwin·dle v. dwin·dled, dwin·dling, dwin·dles v.intr. To become gradually less until little remains. v.tr. To cause to dwindle. See Synonyms at decrease. because fewer tracks can offer stock-car racing stock-car racing Form of automobile racing. Popular in the U.S., it features cars that conform externally to standard U.S. commercial models and are raced usually on oval, paved tracks. on a regular basis at reasonable prices. ``It's like losing a part of our culture,'' said Andrew Phipps, a NASCAR Super Late Model driver from Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. who races at Irwindale Speedway. ``It makes me sad. You can see the way it's going.'' The way it's going is like this: Fewer race tracks leads to fewer drivers and cars which leads to fewer fans. As it stands, there are only a handful of race tracks left in Southern California. Irwindale Speedway, Ventura County Raceway and the Orange Show in San Bernardino are three of the more popular venues for auto racing in the area. ``It's really going to start hurting the sport in general in Southern California,'' said Todd Southwell, the NASCAR Super Late Models points leader at Irwindale Speedway. ``When you've got more tracks, you've got more competitors, you've got more fans, and it helps everybody across the board.'' Irwindale Speedway officials have the same concerns as the drivers. The fallout of Mesa Marin Raceway and Cajon Speedway closing could affect racing up and down the West Coast. Race tracks are spread out over hundreds of miles, offering fewer opportunities to attract new fans and potential teams and sponsors. ``I know NASCAR doesn't like to see a market go away,'' said Bob DeFazio, vice president and chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. of Irwindale Speedway. ``NASCAR does realize that fans come from short tracks. It's a concern to them. It's certainly of concern for us.'' The Collins family, which owns Mesa Marin, sold the land to housing developers. The Brucker family, which operated Cajon Speedway, decided not to renew its lease agreement with San Diego County to run the track. In both cases, the race-track land became more valuable to developers than race promoters. As a result, the owners and operators decided running a race track was no longer a profitable venture. ``These tracks build fans,'' DeFazio said. ``If they're not there to help our mission, it's going to affect us.'' When a track closes, it might seem logical that a race team or driver would just find another track. It's not that simple. When Saugus Speedway in Santa Clarita closed in 1994, it created a vacuum. There wasn't a NASCAR-sanctioned track in Los Angeles County until Irwindale Speedway opened in 1999. A few drivers who raced at Saugus Speedway went to Mesa Marin. A few others went to Kern County Raceway in the Antelope Valley. Most of them stopped racing. And then they resumed racing when Irwindale Speedway opened five years later. ``Mesa was the place to go,'' said Phipps, whose father, David, was a staple of Saugus Speedway for years until the track closed. ``It was really a bummer bum·mer n. 1. Slang An adverse reaction to a hallucinogenic drug. 2. Slang One that depresses, frustrates, or disappoints: Getting stranded at the airport was a real bummer. when Saugus closed. I think it's a real sad thing all these tracks are closing. I never raced (at Mesa Marin), but it's a fun track, a more fun track to drive on than Irwindale.'' The chances are slim that Irwindale Speedway will meet the same fate as Mesa or Cajon, at least for the foreseeable future. Irwindale Speedway is located in a heavily industrial area of the San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. that might not be appealing to housing developers. ``We are in a unique area,'' DeFazio said. ``We're in an industrial area, surrounded by mining pits. Noise is an issue. We have a strict noise requirement. We want to continue to be good neighbors.'' Irwindale attracts drivers and teams from Las Vegas and Arizona. That doesn't necessarily give Irwindale Speedway any sort of staying power, but it makes it a unique venue for the level of competition the track attracts. ``Makes for a real tough deal to race,'' Phipps said. ``You look at the driver roster from Mesa, most of the drivers were from Bakersfield. At Irwindale, none of the drivers are from Irwindale. They're from everywhere.'' According to DeFazio, the lucrative real-estate market and the investment of land required for building a race track will prevent another NASCAR short track in the L.A. market for some time. For those who race at Irwindale Speedway, seeing tracks such as Mesa Marin and Cajon Speedway close hurts. ``Growing up in racing, it's been a part of my life, my passion, my love,'' Phipps said. ``Tracks are just shriveling up and dying on the vine.'' CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) Saturday night racing at Irwindale Speedway is something special for fans attending the events. The track is one of very few left in the Southland. Alex Collins/Special to the Daily News Box: RACE WEEK BY TIM HADDOCK |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion